The Paleolithic Origins of Standing Postures
The origins of standing practices are lost in the mists of time, but one can easily imagine that they began with ancient hunters as a way of attuning to their surroundings and gathering deep reserves of energy and strength while becoming invisible to the prey they hunted. As they were used by hunters, warriors,…
Health Practices for the Pandemic
“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.” – Marcus Aurelius It’s pandemonium out there. Schools…
Daily Mobility Practice – The Fountain of Youth
All movement skills, especially martial movement skills, must be built on a foundation of both stability and mobility. Today we will cover mobility. A complete mobility practice moves each joint in the body through its complete range of motion bathing it in synovial fluid. Movement is the only way your joints get nutrition! Many trainers…
The Yin and Yang of Strength
The art and science of becoming stronger can be broken down into 2 main methods. The Addition of Driving Forces (Yang), and The Subtraction of Restrictive Forces (Yin) When most people train for strength they focus solely on the Yang of Strength – the addition of driving forces. But this will only get you so…
How Warriors Train for ENDURANCE
Warriors Need to HIIT! High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is one of the best ways to train for endurance. It will enhance all 3 energy systems in the body, as well as prime the nervous system to recover automatically during lulls in activity. Simply put, HIIT alternates periods of high intensity exercise with periods of…
The Future of Functional Training – Interviews with The Masters
Looking Towards the Past As humans we have a tendency to Romanticize things of the distant past – Knights in shining armor, damsels in distress, Prehistoric eating habits, the idea of the Noble Savage, Warrior Princesses… Perhaps it’s Disney’s fault. 🙂 Regardless, the past, especially the distant past was never all sunshine and rainbows –…
Martial Arts Training for Mobility
A guest blog post by my friend, Jarell Lindsey from Lean Functional Muscle. Martial Arts Training for Mobility The martial arts are diluted today. There are maxims and philosophies of how to dictate one’s life, and emphasis on the aspect of skill over strength, and not needing to be stronger than your opponent to claim…
The Failure of Yogic Breathing
There are many different systems of breath work out there that focus on relaxed breathing and stress reduction that also talk about how to increase breath control and expand the practitioner’s lung capacity. Unfortunately the majority of these systems fall short due to the fact that they tend to focus the bulk (or all) of their work on…
Logan Christopher’s The Indestructible Body Review
I have a confession to make… I’m extremely jealous of Logan Christopher’s latest release, The Indestructible Body. Considering my personal emphasis on mobility, flexibility, strength training, and injury-proofing for myself and my students (clients), this is the kind of program I would have love to have written! The good news is that Logan has already done…
Training Through Injuries
Four weeks ago I injured my ankle. The diagnosis? Peroneal tendonitis. Walking was painful. Squating was painful. Lunging was out of the question. Heck, even balancing on my injured foot hurt.